Boeing Wants to Be Like Apple

By Ben Levisohn

Boeing (BA) is meeting with investors today–and investors appear to like what they hear.

AP

Shares of Boeing have gained 0.9% to $130.73 after CEO Jim McNerney said the company would look to be more likeApple (AAPL), with new product developments added over time–like Apple does with the iPad–rather than in one big, high-risk “moonshot.” Boeing also said that it would cut costs by another $2.1 billion from its defense business.

RBC Capital Markets’ Robert Stallard doesn’t think the cost-cutting will come solely at the expense of Boeing’s suppliers. He explains:

[The] emphasis put on supplier costs is not really ‘new’ – it’s an ongoing process. We are actually happy to hear multiple examples of where Boeing has been working with suppliers to take out cost as well, so this is not just a price cut. Ultimately, this should help many suppliers to preserve margins, even with further OE price pressure.

While share of Boeing have jumped, Apple has ticked up just 0.1% to $605.20.

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There are 13 comments

MAY 21, 2014 2:49 P.M.

Anonymous wrote:

If Jim McNerney wants Boeing, a company that makes ultra-sophisticated products that need to protect the lives of their users, to be more like apple that essentially makes toys, than I'm buying stock in Airbus. McNerney must have lost his mind if he thinks apple is a company to emulate. They've had one good idea in 20 years and that was to improve the touchscreen interface, that Microsoft pioneered, and that's it, period. The iphone and ipad are essentially the same thing they were 10 years ago. What incremental improvement is this nut job talking about? You can't incrementally improve a masterpiece like the Dreamliner 787. You have to invent a whole new way of flying with sophisticated materials.

MAY 21, 2014 2:51 P.M.

Wow. wrote:

How big is their legal fund? Does that also mean they've patented all their round corners?

MAY 21, 2014 2:58 P.M.

@ Anonymous wrote:

The reason a Boeing plane is never going to be a toy to you is because a pimple like you will never ever make that kind of money. Lego plane: yes. Re Microsoft. You're not just a tool. You're the power sort. One that bores. On you. You're a veritable wind tunnel. Take off...

MAY 21, 2014 3:00 P.M.

Anonymous wrote:

Maybe Boeing's CEO wants to lose 80% of the aircraft market to Airbus and Bombardier like apple has to Android and Microsoft? Anyone who wants to copy apple's business plan doesn't deserve to be CEO of a nursery school. The Boeing Board should remove this nut immediately. He sure aint' no Alan Mullaly a brilliant CEO who kept Boeing flying high before he saved Ford. They should bring Mullaly back ASAP!

MAY 21, 2014 3:05 P.M.

Anonymous wrote:

Hey there @Anonymous how much did the apple toy company pay you to attack me and completely ignore the facts? You should change your moniker to iTardForHire. Now go back to fingerpainting on your iToy.

MAY 21, 2014 3:19 P.M.

Anonymous wrote:

Okay, I was obviously being silly with my trash talk about apple. The truth is that it is much safer both from a product and business point of view for Boeing to concentrate on incremental improvement than to bet the farm (and people's lives) on 'moon shot' new airplanes. If that's being 'more like apple,' I say go for it, Boeing…

MAY 21, 2014 3:46 P.M.

Anonymous wrote:

Apple is the largest and most profitable company in world history, so I would say that is exactly the type of company a CEO should be trying to emulate. They make high quality products affordable for the masses and concentrate on continuously improving them. What is wrong with that?

MAY 21, 2014 4:44 P.M.

Anonymous wrote:

One big reason Boeing will have problems with many incremental improvements, the FAA. Ie, if Apple wants to use a new glass for their screen, they do some testing, and stick it on the new model. If Boeing wants to use a new glass, they have to go through a whole testing regime, lots of red tape with the FAA, all costing a lot of time and money... Or they can use the same old plexiglas / glass laminate that everyone has been using for decades. To see my theory in practice, we need only look at the Beech Starship. It was to be the first all composite aircraft for mass production. The FAA was unsure about how the structure would handle things, even after all of the testing, so required Beech to significantly increase the structure, thus increasing weight. The final aircraft was so over built / over weight that it missed all of its payload, range, and weight numbers. The aircraft was a disaster for Beech, eventually causing the company to reorganize.

MAY 21, 2014 7:22 P.M.

Machead wrote:

Well. Apple clearly does not need 80% marketshare to be the most valuable company in the whole world. Also, bashers may want to know It is also one of the most profitable companies worldwide hands down. No wonder Apple is an example others would like to follow. THEY ARE WIDELY, WIDELY, WIDELY SUCCESSFUL. They have earned it. Sure, Boeing being the gigantic company it is would like to emulate the success of a much bigger and powerful company. Long live Apple !

MAY 21, 2014 7:27 P.M.

Anonymous wrote:

apple is nowhere near the largest and most profitable company in world history and only a fruitcake iTard pretending to write under my "anonymous" entries would make such a ridiculous claim. apple hasn't even existed for 1/10th time of some of the really successful companies in world history, and for most of its history barely made a dime and would have gone bankrupt and out of business if Microsoft had rescued it with a $500 million dollar loan. And for the record I was not being silly when I referred to all the horrendous mismanagement at apple. I meant every word of it so ignore the ignoramous iTard who is pretending to be me. And the latest statistics show that apple is now down to 15% of smartphones and Samsung has 31%. Shows you what a horribly mismangaged company apple is. There new catchphrase should be "toys for punks"

MAY 21, 2014 9:00 P.M.

Anonymous wrote:

Seeing as Boeing makes fighters and bombers I'd assume they'd want to be more lIke Micro$oft. Making product that bomb. Sorry, couldn't resist.

MAY 21, 2014 9:01 P.M.

UpChuck.Liberals wrote:

I'd have assumed that because Boeing make weapon platforms they want to emulate Micro$oft. Things that bomb.

MAY 22, 2014 1:30 A.M.

Anonymous wrote:

Sheesh...sorry folks. I looked it up and apple is indeed one of the world's most profitable corporations. I also checked about Microsoft. It didn't make a loan at all--it invested $150 million (not the $500 million I previously wrote) in convertible preferred stock. Again, sorry. I get so emotional about these things.....

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Earnings reports, corporate strategies and analyst insights are all part of what moves stocks, and they’re all covered by the Stocks to Watch blog. We also look at macro issues, investor sentiments and hidden trends that are affecting the market. Stocks to Watch gives you the full picture of the U.S. stock markets, all day long.

The blog is written by Ben Levisohn, a former stock trader who has covered financial markets for the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and BusinessWeek.